On April 25, Ling Li, senior research fellow at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute and assistant professor at Northwest University of Political Science and Law in China, discussed her research on Chinese courts at "Judicial Independence vs. Judicial Corruption: Judicial Decision-making in China and its Implications." Professor Jerome Cohen, co-director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute, moderated the session.

"We have to realize that merely dissecting the judiciary from the Party would not solve the various problems plaguing the Chinese justice system," says Li. "Measures have to be taken simultaneously to ensure a successful conversion of the adjudicative inertia from being accountable to power to being accountable to law. Otherwise, we risk turning the judiciary into an almighty institution, where power can be easily abused."